Bi-Cheng Zhou, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Virginia, has published research in npj Materials Degradation that more accurately explains how metal alloys corrode when immersed in water.His co-authored paper, Potential-pH diagrams considering complex oxide solution phases for understanding aqueous corrosion of multi-principal element alloys, leads to a better understanding of aqueous corrosion of chemically complex alloys and suggests more effective protective measures.
Zhou used computational modeling to generate a graphical representation of the thermodynamically predominant reaction products in aqueous corrosion. The graph, called an electrochemical phase diagram, provided invaluable information about these alloys' resistance to aqueous corrosion under various electric potential and pH conditions.
Whereas previous computational models have neglected the solid solution behavior of metal ions during corrosion and oxidation, Zhou's novel methodology accounts for the mixing of metal ions in oxide layers. His computational prediction of oxide mixing behavior is corroborated with first-hand experimentation as well as experimental results in the published literature.
Kang Wang, a post-doc in Zhou's computational thermodynamics and kinetics of materials research group, is the paper's first author. John R. Scully, UVA Charles Henderson Chaired Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, his post-doc Junsoo Han and Ph.D. student Angela Y. Gerard are contributing authors.